Containers and liners for use in compacting systems or the like

ABSTRACT

A container for use with a compacting system includes spring loaded retractable wheel mechanism on the bottom thereof to facilitate handling of the container. The wheels are automatically retracted during the compaction operation due to the pressure of compaction. A liner to enable disposable bags to be more expeditiously used is preferably square in shape and is fabricated of plastic material or the like. Located between the liner and an outer container is a disposable bag. After compaction is complete a portion of the container is swung open and the liner deforms due to residual compression force in the compacted material. This releases the compacted material from the liner and enables the liner to be easily lifted out, the result being that the compacted material remains in the disposable bag, the liner having protected the bag during compaction.

United States Patent 1191 Ippolito et al. 1451 May 22, 1973 [54]CONTAINERS AND LINERS FOR USE 2,627,824 2/1953 Schulze ..220/65 x INCOMPACTING SYSTEM R THE 3,115,986 12/1963 Groff ..220/63 R LIKE FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [75] Inventors: Amos [ppohm Brooklyn 1,176,5638/1964 Germany ..220 1 T Y. L. Ma, Yonkers, both of NY.

[73] Assignee: Environmental Pollution Research Corporation, New HydePark, N.Y., by said lppolito [22] Filed: Aug. 13, 1971 [21] Appl. No.:171,711

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.847,567, Aug. 5,

1969, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. ..220/63 R, 100/255, 220/1 T, 220/65 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d25/14 [58] Field of Search ..220/65, 63 R, 1 T; 100/255 [56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 325,254 9/1885 Lockwood ..l41/259 579,2283/1897 Frame 696,832 4/1902 Maschke 1,786,827 12/1930 Copeman.....

1,861,112 5/1932 Christian 2,529,816 11/1950 Rowe ..220/65 PrimaryExaminer-SAmuel B. Rothberg Assistant Examiner.lames R. GarrettAttorney-Robert D. Flynn et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A container for use with a compacting system includesspring loaded retractable wheel mechanism on the bottom thereof tofacilitate handling of the container. The wheels are automaticallyretracted during the compaction operation due to the pressure ofcompaction. A liner to enable disposable bags to be more expeditiouslyused is preferably square in shape and is fabricated of plastic materialor the like. Located between the liner and an outer container is adisposable bag. After compaction is complete a portion of the containeris swung open and the liner deforms due to residual compression force inthe compacted material. This releases the compacted material from theliner and enables the liner to be easily lifted out, the result beingthat the compacted material remains in the disposable bag, the linerhaving protected the bag during compaction.

13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures ff.l/I////// V/J//// 1 0 Patented May 22,1973 3,734,340

2 Shasta-Sheet 1 F l c .2 5 152 COMPACTI NG STATIO N Patented May 22,1973 3,134,340

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CONTAINERS AND LINERS FOR USE IN COMPACTING SYSTEMS ORTHE LIKE This is a continuation-in-part of US. Ser. No. 847,567, filedAug. 5, 1969, now abandoned.

This invention relates to compacting apparatus, and more particularly tocontainer and liner configurations which particularly adapt thecompacting system for use with disposable bags.

A problem presently exists in the compacting art regarding how toutilize disposable bags such as plastic or paper bags, in the mostefficient manner. As a practical matter, it is not suitable to compactthe material directly in the disposable bag since due to the pressurebuilt up during compaction, the bag will tend to be damaged. Also sharpand hard objects in the material to be compacted can damage the bags. Itis not a practical solution to take already compacted material and tothen insert same into a disposable bag. This would be a difficult andtime consuming operation and, when the compacted material is garbage orother refuse, the operation of loading the compacted material into adisposable bag would be unsanitary and messy.

Another problem which exists in the present compacting systems residesin facilitating handling of the containers used in the compacter bothprior to and after compaction of the material to be compacted. Theproblem is less acute prior to compaction since the unloaded containeris not as heavy and is more easily moved about. But even unloaded, thecontainers may be rather heavy and bulky to handle. However, aftercompcation, the loaded container is quite heavy and handling thereof isdifficult. A known solution is to utilize a dolly or a hand truck tohandle and move about the loaded container. While these known devicesfacilitate handling of the containers, it has been found that a moresatisfactory solution is desirable.

An object of the present invention is to provide container liners whichare inexpensive to produce, which are easily handled and wherein settingup of the container-liner apparatus prior to compaction is facilitated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container linerwhich enables disposable bags to be used in a compactor.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved containerfor use in compacting systems which facilitates handling thereof priorto and after compaction of material.

A further object of this invention is to provide such an improvedcontainer which is particularly adaptable for use with container linersin conjunction with disposable bags.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a removableliner is provided for use with a container having an operable door orthe like therein. The liner comprises a continuous tube-shaped memberwhich is adapted to be received by the container and within whichmaterial is compacted. Upon opening of the door of the container, theliner bulges outward to release from the compacted material. The linermay then be easily removed from the container, the compacted materialremaining in the container. In a preferred embodiment, a disposable bagis interposed between the container and liner so that upon removal ofthe liner, the compacted material remains within the disposable bag.

According to one aspect of the invention. the tubeshaped member has asquare cross-section and a continuous circumferential wall section. Thewalls bulge outward when the door is opened to release the compactedmaterial.

According to another aspect of the invention, a substantiallycylindrical liner is split in its longitudinal direction and the lineris coiled against the residual tension of the material so that the splitends thereof overlap. The coiled liner is located within a disposablebag, which is located in a container which is openable to release theliner.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a containerfor use in compacting systems and the like includes a housing which isadapted to receive material to be compacted therein. Secured to thebottom of the housing and supporting the housing is a plurality ofspring loaded wheels. The bias force of the springs is sufficient tomaintain the housing in its raised position except during application ofdownward pressures (such as during a compaction operation) exceeding theweight of a full load of material in the housing. In a preferredembodiment, the housing includes an openable door portion.

The above and further objects of the present invention will become moreapparent from the following detailed description of preferredembodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a movable container according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration ofa container liner according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a container and liner configuration used inconjunction with disposable bags;

FIG. 4 illustrates a container of the present invention as used with acompacting system;

FIG. 5 illustrates a modified embodiment of the container liner of FIG.2; and

FIGS. 6a, 6b and 6c illustrate another liner configuration according tothe present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a square container 1 which includes a panel 2hingedly coupled to the panel 3 of the container l by means of a hinge4. The panel 2 closes against the panel 5 of the container 1 and issecured in the closed position by means of a buckle, clamp or otherlocking arrangement 6. The particular design of the locking arrangement6 is a matter of design and convenience and may take various forms otherthan shown in FIG. 1. Also, the container 1 may include panels or walls5 and 7 being integral with each other and panel walls 2 and 3 beingintegral with each other, a hinge, such as hinge 4, being locatedbetween panels 3 and 7 of the container. When this modifiedconfiguration is used, the structure has less rigidity when the panels 2and 3 are swung open.

Secured to the bottom panel 8 of the container 1 are wheels 9. Wheels 9are retractably coupled to the bottom wall 8 by means of rods 10 andsprings 11. The spring biases the wheel 9 to the extended position shownin FIG. 1. As weight is applied to the container in the verticaldownward direction during compaction, the container 1 will be loweredagainst the bias force of the springs 11.

When the container 1 of FIG. 1 is utilized in a compacting system, suchas shown in FIG. 4, the container 1 is located over a fixed raisedplatform 12 which is located under the compacting station 13 of thecompacting apparatus. The remainder of the compacting apparatus is notshown herein and should be apparent to those ordinarily skilled in theart. During compaction (that is when the ram 13a of the compactingstation 13 is'lowered to compact material within the container 1), thecontainer 1 is caused to be lowered against the bias force of springs 11until the lower surface 8 thereof rests on fixed platform 12. Thus,during compaction of material, the platform 12 bears substantially allof the force of compaction, thereby enabling less expensive and lighterweight wheel and spring mechanisms (10 and 11) to be used. Also, it isnot necessary to fabricate the lower surface 8 of container 1 to bearthe forces of compaction. The retractable spring loaded wheel mechanismand the lower surface 8 of the container 1 need not bear large amountsof weight due to the use of the raised platform 12 under the compactingstation which the wheels will straddle. Platform 12 is designed inconjunction with the wheel spacing on container 1 to enable thecontainer 1 to be easily rolled into place. The springs 11 are designedwith sufficient spring force to keep the container 1 in the uppermostposition to provide a clearance between the platform 12 and the lowersurface 8 of the container even after the container is fully loaded withcompacted material. This facilitates removal of the container 1 from thecompacting system by merely rolling the container away. The container isthen easily handled throughout the remainder of its use without thenecessity of using dollys, handtrucks or the like.

The complete unit is self-contained in the present invention. It shouldbe clear that the container 1 is shown in a square configuration forillustrative purposes only. It should be clear that it may take otherconvenient forms, such as round or polygonal, depending upon theapplication and upon the characteristics of the remaining apparatus withwhich it is used. For example, the container may be round and a segmentthereof may be hingedly coupled to form an openable door. Further,instead of using a central support platform 12 as shown in FIG. 4, thecontainer 1 could be supported during compaction by edge supports, suchas supports fixed to the compacting apparatus per se.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a liner configuration 14 for usewith a square container such as that shown in FIG. 1. This particularliner 14 is essentially a square tube which is open at the top andbottom. The liner 14 is dimensioned so that a small clearance (such asapproximately 1 inch on all four sides) is provided between the linerand the container within which it is placed. Since the liner 14 is a onepiece structure (it is continuous about the periphery thereof) insertionthereof into a container and into a disposable bag such as a plasticbag, paper bag, or the like, is facilitated.

FIG. 3 illustrates the use of the liner 14 (FIG. 2) and the squarecontainer 1 (FIG. 1) configuration of the present invention inconjunction with a disposable bag. In FIG. 3, the container wheels arenot shown they may be as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The liner 14 isinserted within a bag 17, and the liner and bag are then placed withinthe container 1. The upper free ends 17a of the bag 17 are preferablyfolded outward to overlap the upper edges of container 1 to hold the bag17 in position. The container 1 is then rolled to the compacting stationto receive material to be compacted. The container 1 and liner 14 ofFIG. 3 are preferably the same as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,respectively, reference being made to these latter Figures for detailsof construction.

Alternatively, the container and liner configuration may be set up byfirst inserting the disposable bag 17 within the container 1 and foldingthe upper free edges 17a of the bag 17 over the upper edge of thecontainer 1 in the outward direction. Then, the liner 14 may be insertedwithin the bag 17, thereby completing the setting-up operation.

After the liner and container apparatus has received a full load ofcompacted material, the container is rolled out of the system andunloaded. The unloading procedure is as follows. First the door 2 (seeFIG. 1) of the container 1 is opened, thereby allowing at least one side15 (see FIG. 2) of the liner 14 to bulge outwardly to release thematerial which has been compacted. The liner 14 may then be easilylifted out, leaving the compacted material in the disposable bag 17.

It has been found that after material has been compacted in the liner l4and after the door of the container 1 (such as door 2 of FIG. 1) isopened, the residual pressure built up within the liner 14 due to thecompaction of the material therein will force the central portions 14 ofthe walls of liner 1 in the outward direction, thus relieving built uppressure in the liner. The central portions of the liner 14 bulgeoutward relieving the tight fit of the compacted material therein and ithas been found that the liner 14 may then be easily lifted out in theupward direction to release same from the compacted material. Thus thecompacted material is caused to remain in the bag 17 within thecontainer in a neat and sanitary manner without causing damage to thebag 17. Liner 14 is bottomless. Practical tests have shown that nodamage is caused to the bottom of a disposable bag 17 during compaction.However, if the sides of the bag were exposed during compaction, damagewould most likely result to the bag 17. Thus, the provision of thebottomless liner satisfies practical requirements for compactingsystems.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a modified liner configurationsimilar to that of FIG. 2. In FIG. 5 a slit 16 is provided on at leastone wall 18 of the liner 1?. The vertical length of the slit 16 ispreferably less than the height of the wall 18 of the liner 19 for easeof handling. In certain situations where the bulging out of the walls ofthe liner due to the residual pressure of the compacted material afterthe door of the container is opened, is not sufficient to release thecompacted material, the provision of the slit 16 will enable the liner18 to be more easily released from the compacted material. Thus, slit 16will enable more easy removal of the liner in certain situations. Sincethe length of the slit 16 is only a portion of the height of the wall ofthe liner, the liner is still easily insertable within a disposable bagor the like during the set-up of the compacting apparatus.

It has been found that providing an opening wall comprising only asingle wall 2 in the container 1 allows sufficient bulging of the linerto release the compacted material so that the liner may be easilyremoved. As mentioned above, after removal of the liner, all of thecompacted material remains in the disposable bag 17. The loaded bag 17may then be closed off at the upper portions thereof and the loaded bag17 may be easily removed from the container 1 without necessitatinglifting thereof. Since the door 2 of the container is open, the loadedbag 17 may merely be slid out of the container and disposed of in thenormal manner.

Depending on the type of material being compacted, it may beadvantageous to provide a container 1 wherein two of the walls thereofare hingedly coupled to the other two. In this case, when the door(which comprises two walls of the container) is opened after compaction,two sides of the liner within the container are unobstructed and greaterbulging out of the sides thereof can be achieved. This will provideimproved re leasing of the compacted material from the liner and willfurther facilitate removal of the liner in certain instances. However,in compacting systems receiving refuse or garbage of the ordinaryresidential type, it has been found that a container having a singlepanel door (such as is shown in FIG. 1) provides adequate results.

It should be clear that the liner and container may take configurationsother than those shown in the drawings. For example, the liner andcontainer may take a triangular shape, other polygonal shapes or anyother suitable shape. The only limitation on the shapes of the liner andcontainer is that the wall of the liner should be of sufficientdimension to allow the wall to adequately bulge after the door of thecontainer is opened to allow easy removal of the liner from the materialthat has been compacted. Depending upon the material being compacted,the pressure of compaction and the size of the container, the specificshape of the container and the number of panels of the container whichare to be hingedly openable to enable release of the liner may be easilydetermined.

Also, it is pointed out that the particular material from which theliner is made will affect the particular design of the liner andcontainer to insure satisfactory release thereof from the material thathas been compacted. Factors such as the length of the panels comprisingthe liner and container, the type of material being compacted, thepressure of compaction, the height of the liner, the thickness of thematerial comprising the liner, and the like must be considered in actualdesign of a particular embodiment to enable adequate release of theliner from the material that has been compacted after the container hasbeen opened.

A practical liner of square configuration and providing verysatisfactory results is as follows:

type of material: low density polyethelene length of walls: 23 & inchesheight of walls: 30 inches thickness of material: ,4; inch length ofcontainer wall: 24

FIG. 6a illustrates another liner 165 according to the presentinvention. The operation of liner 165 will be described in conjunctionwith a preferred system using disposable bags, but it should be clearthat liner 165 could be used without same.

Referring to FIG. 6a-6c the liner 165 is constructed of of springymaterial which tends to spring or bulge" outward in the direction of thearrows A. A flange 166 is optionally secured thereto or formed as anintegral part thereof. The container 167 (FIGS. 6b and 60) within whichthe liner is inserted has a square base 168 (for ease of movementthroughout the system). The container and base are constructed of threeparts: a rear portion 369; and two front portions 170 and 171, each ofwhich are hingedly coupled to rear portion 169 by means of hinges 172and 173, respectively. Front portions 170 and 171 are releasably coupledtogether by quick release buckles 174, the designs of which areconventional. The hinges 172 and 173 are located behind the center line175 of the container (see FIG, 60) to enable the liner to be easilyremoved. The container may have spring loaded wheels as shown in FIG. 1.

In operation, a disposable bag 176 is placed in container 167. Then theliner 165 is pressed together or coiled in the direction of the arrows B(see FIG. 6a) and inserted within bag 176 in container 167. It should beapparent that the liner 165, in its free and expanded (or bulged) statehas a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the container. Also,the bag 176 is larger than the liner 165 in its free expanded state. Thereason for this will become apparent in view of the followingdescription.

After the container and liner are filled with compacted material andejected by the system to a disposal station, the quick release buckles174 are opened and the front portions and 171 of container 167 areopened to the position shown by the dot-dash lines in FIG. 60. Since thehinges 172 and 173 are beyond the center line 175, the liner 165 is nolonger restrained by the walls of container 167 and will spring outwardin the direction of the arrows A of FIG. 6a to release the compactedmaterial. The liner is then easily lifted out of the disposable bag 176,leaving the compacted material remaining in bag 176. The bag 176 filledwith compacted material is then disposed of.

Preferably the liner 14 of FIG. 2 includes an inwardly directed flange15a for reinforcement. Flange 15a also serves as a handle member tofacilitate removal thereof from the container and bag, and to deflectmaterial back into the liner when the ram is raised after a compactionoperation.

As used herein, the term tube or tubular" denotes an elongated hollowelement of any suitable crosssectional configuration, such as square,rectangular, oval, circular, etc. Of course, the container must beshaped accordingly to accommodate a particular shaped liner.

What is claimed is:

1. Compacting apparatus for use in a compacting system comprising:

an open top outer container having an openable peripheral side wallportion; bag member inserted in said outer container; and liner which isadapted to be removably inserted in said bag member and in whichmaterial is to be compacted, said liner shielding said bag member fromdamage during compaction and comprising a one-piece, flexible, hollow,open-bottomed, tubular-shaped member having wallswhich, upon opening ofsaid openable portion of said outer container after said material iscompacted, flex outwardly and release from the compacted materialtherein;

said bag being of sufficient size so as not to bind on said outwardlyflexed liner during removal of said liner from said bag member.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a said liner is dimensioned toprovide a clearance between the walls of said liner and the walls ofsaid container.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a longitudinal slit is formedin a portion of at least one of the walls of said liner in thelongitudinal direction thereof.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said liner is a squarebottomless tube.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said bag is a disposable bag.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said outer container isgenerally cylindrical in cross-section and comprises a pair of openablewall portions.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said tubular shaped linermember has a continuous circumferential wall section.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said tubular shaped linermember is an elongated tube having a substantially square cross-section.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said liner is a substantiallycylindrical-shaped bottomless tubular member made of a springy materialand having a longitudinal out throughout the length thereof, said linerspringing outward upon opening of said openable portion of saidcontainer.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the largest diameter portionof said liner is larger than the inner dimension of said container whensaid liner is in its outwardly sprung state.

111. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said outer container isgenerally cylindrically shaped.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said outer container and saidliner are generally rectangular in cross-section.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said openable wall portioncomprises one wall of said generally rectangular container.

1. Compacting apparatus for use in a compacting system comprising: anopen top outer container having an openable peripheral side wallportion; a bag member inserted in said outer container; and a linerwhich is adapted to be removably inserted in said bag member and inwhich material is to be compacted, said liner shielding said bag memberfrom damage during compaction and comprising a one-piece, flexible,hollow, open-bottomed, tubular-shaped member having walls which, uponopening of said openable portion of said outer container after saidmaterial is compacted, flex outwardly and release from the compactedmaterial therein; said bag being of sufficient size so as not to bind onsaid outwardly flexed liner during removal of said liner from said bagmember.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a said liner isdimensioned to provide a clearance between the walls of said liner andthe walls of said container.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein alongitudinal slit is formed in a portion of at least one of the walls ofsaid liner in the longitudinal direction thereof.
 4. Apparatus accordingto claim 1 wherein said liner is a square bottomless tube.
 5. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said bag is a disposable bag.
 6. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said outer container is generallycylindrical in cross-section and comprises a pair of openable wallportions.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said tubular shapedliner member has a continuous circumferential wall section.
 8. Apparatusaccording to claim 7 wherein said tubular shaped liner member is anelongated tube having a substantially square cross-section.
 9. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said liner is a substantiallycylindrical-shaped bottomless tubular member made of a springy materialand having a longitudinal cut throughout the length thereof, said linerspringing outward upon opening of said openable portion of saidcontainer.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the largestdiameter portion of said liner is larger than the inner dimension ofsaid container when said liner is in its outwardly sprung state. 11.Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said outer container is generallycylindrically shaped.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein saidouter container and said liner are generally rectangular incross-section.
 13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said openablewall portion comprises one wall of said generally rectangular container.